Garfield made the fat cat popular, but cat obesity can be very dangerous for your cat’s health. Here are five sure options to help your obese cat lose weight. There are two main ways to help your cat shed some extra pounds: making him work more for its food, increase its level of exercise or both!

1. The walking meal

Begin by withholding food from your cat for a little while. Avoid leaving a full bowl of food out for the day. Instead, wait for dinner time and fill your cat’s bowl. Then, carry it with you around the house as your cat follow you. Once every couple of minutes, put the bowl down and let your cat eat a little then start moving again. Less food intake and more exercise should do the trick.

2. Go fetch, cat edition

Choose a treat that your cat loves but is low calorie. Throw a single piece across the room and let your cat chase it. Wait for your cat to come back and repeat. Your cat will have to work extra hard for his treats and will get a very effective workout.

3. Interactive food delivery

Many different types of interactive feeders and treat puzzles are available on the market that can keep your cat having fun while making her work for her dinner. They are a great way to get both your cat’s brain and body working. Your cat has to manipulate them, roll them around or follow them to get a treat or piece of dry food, encouraging movement. More moving, more weight lost! That’s the strategy we had in mind when we design our robot for cats MIA.

4. Where is my food?

Leave your cat in another room whit the door closed and then put his food bowl in a different place. Release him and he’ll have to walk around looking for it. Your cat has a great nose and will surely find his dinner meal, but not before working out a little!

5. Beat the laziness the help your cat lose weight

There are so many interactive cat toys out there now that you should be able to find one that will stimulate even the laziest cat. Watch how your cat plays in order to pick the right toy for your cat. Rotate the selection of toys that your cat has out. Frequently take away the toys you have been leaving out for your cat to play with while you are away and put out a different selection to keep his attention. Think new and interesting; the same old gets boring. Making compelling new toys available to your cat encourages active play.

MEET MIA, YOUR CAT NEW FRIEND

MIA is an autonomous robot that entertains your cat and even dispenses treats! MIA will increase your cat's exercise level, make its day more fun and help fight cat obesity

Dog treats are one of the best ways to show your dog how much you love him. You can give treats during training or with our robot MIA that dispenses treats while playing. But store-bought dog treats are usually made of white flour and have many calories. That’s why we made a list of our five best dog treats recipes.

WHOLE WHEAT DOG BISCUITS

Simple and wholesome.

Ingredients :

1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour

1/2 cup (125 ml) medium cornmeal

1 egg

1/4 cup (60 ml) beef broth

2 tablespoons (30 ml) nut butter

Preparation :

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flour and cornmeal. Add the egg, broth and peanut butter and pulse until dough just begins to hold together. Remove from the food processor and shape into a disc by hand.

On a floured surface, roll the dough until 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick.

Using a bone-shaped cookie cutter, cut out dog biscuits. Arrange on the cookie sheet.

Bake until the biscuits begin to brown, about 25 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Store in an airtight container.

Make about 24 small or 12 large biscuits

BREATH NEUTRALIZING DOGS COOKIES

The parsley in this recipe helps with your dog breath.

Ingredients :

1 very ripe banana

1/4 cup (60 ml) nut butter

1/2 cup (125 ml) oatmeal

1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh parlsey, chopped

1/4 cup (60 ml) whole wheat flour

Preparation :

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mash the banana. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Make 12 balls and arrange on the cookie sheet, flattening a little.

Bake about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Store in an airtight container.

Make 12 cookies.

DIABETIC DOG TREATS

Perfect for diabetic dogs.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup (125 ml) whole wheat flour

2 eggs

1 ½ pounds (0.70 kg) beef liver, chopped into pieces

Preparation :

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the liver until finely chopped. Add the egg and flour and pulse until smooth.

Remove from the food processor and spread on the cookie sheet.

Bake until the center is firm, about 15 minutes.

Cool and cut in squares.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Make about 36 treats.

FANCY DOG BISCUITS

Nothing is too good for your pooch.

Ingredients :

3 3/4 cup (925 ml) whole wheat flour

1 3/4 cup (425 ml) oatmeal

2 tbsp (30 ml) bacon fat

1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

1 oz (40 g) grated parmesan

1 3/4 cup (425 ml) unsalted beef broth

3 carrots, grated

Preparation :

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Has your vet told you your cat is overweight? Cat obesity is very common but still very preoccupying. It can lead to diseases and reduce your cat’s quality of life. Here is why some cats are obese and ways to treat it.

3 mains reasons your cat is overweight

High food intake

The first cause of obesity is overfeeding. Most cats are free-fed, which means a bowl of food is left for the day while we go to work. This abundance of food is pretty unnatural for our feline friends who have evolved as carnivore hunters.

Lack of exercise

Cats are independent and without the need to hunt prey, they mostly spend the day on the couch napping. Left alone as we are away for the day, they have little ways to burn all the food we left them.

Hypothyroidism

In some rare cases, hypothyroidism can slow down your cat’s metabolism and lead to a weight gain. Your veterinarian should be able to diagnose this disease and help you treat it.

Worrying consequences of cat obesity

Diabetes

Obese cats are far more prone to diabetes, an expensive and worrisome condition to treat.

Arthritis

Arthritis is caused by all the extra weight on load-bearing joints. Then your cat is stuck in a vicious cycle: because of the pain when walking or jumping, it becomes more sedentary, burns fewer calories, and gains more weight, worsening its arthritis.

Hepatic lipidosis

Also known as fatty liver disease, hepatic lipidosis is potentially fatal but can be turned around quickly by prompt diagnosis and treatment.

2 easy solutions to make you cat loose weight

Feed smaller portion more frequently

A better way to feed our cats is to give them smaller portion more frequently during the day. This is hard to achieve when no one is home during the day. We should also always adjust the amount of food we offer during the day in consequence of our cat’s physical activity.

Make your cat exercise more

It’s much easier to make dogs exercise than cats. Most cats are left alone for long periods of time and really have nothing happening in the house that would trigger a carnivorous hunter’s interest levels. If you can, getting a second cat is a very good solution. Interactive toys, like our robot MIA, make your cat work for its food and are also a good option.

MIA is a 100% automatic robot equipped with a dry-food dispenser. Through its intuitive app, you choose the time of day you want your pet to exercise and the number of times it gives food. Mia will navigate by itself through your house avoiding obstacles and and stairs. Its speed is also adjustable depending on your pet’s behavior.

Perfect for fighting cat obesity, MIA can also be used with dogs. It’s your new pet BFF.

MEET MIA, YOUR CAT NEW FRIEND

MIA is an autonomous robot that entertains your cat and even dispenses treats! MIA will increase your cat's exercise level, make its day more fun and help fight cat obesity

]]>http://blog.kolonyrobotic.com/cat-obesity-causes-treatments/feed/0This pet groomer employs special needs adults as professional cuddlershttp://blog.kolonyrobotic.com/pet-groomer-special-needs-cuddlers/
http://blog.kolonyrobotic.com/pet-groomer-special-needs-cuddlers/#respondSun, 28 Jan 2018 20:06:12 +0000http://kolonyrobotic.com/?p=290The post This pet groomer employs special needs adults as professional cuddlers appeared first on Kolony Robtic.
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Every pet gets a little anxious when going to the groomer. This pet groomer in Quebec (Canada) found the perfect way to keep cats and dogs happy and relaxed : they employ cuddlers!

The professional cuddlers are special needs adults who also help with some basic grooming tasks.

Simon Paquin is a professional pet cuddler.

The calm and heart-warming atmosphere of the salon quickly charms clients and pets while earning their trust and loyalty. On the company Facebook page, clients are raving about the quality of the service and often say that their pet feels safe and relaxed.

Indeed, cats, dogs and even rabbits are a lot calmer when the time comes to trim their nails or comb their coat. The grooming process is easier and faster! Waiting for their appointment is also much more enjoyable and dogs bark a lot less.

This initiative provides jobs and helps pet parents feel better about their visit to the groomer. What more can you ask for?

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http://blog.kolonyrobotic.com/mia-camera-woof-box/#respondSat, 27 Jan 2018 15:54:41 +0000http://kolonyrobotic.com/?p=277The post MIA is now an ecosystem appeared first on Kolony Robtic.
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MIA the robot just got better! We are so happy to present you our ecosystem.With the MIACAM and the Woofbox, you can customize the way your pet plays with MIA.

Why an ecosystem?

Our robot MIA can be used as a single unit. But we wanted more features! We wanted a camera to see our dogs and cats while they played with MIA. We wanted our dogs to activate MIA by themselves when they wanted to play.

Going the ecosystem way also allows us to offer your a more flexible price point. You only buy the options that suit your needs.

MIACAM

The MIACAM is a camera you can place anywhere is your home. When MIA is activated, the camera will turn on, allowing you to watch your pet play. No more long afternoon at work missing your pet.

WoofBox

The WoofBox is a little box that listens when your dog barks and instantly activates MIA. If your dog barks too much during the day for your neighbor’s taste, the WoofBox will be a great fit.

Making it your own

You were very clear on that on our social media accounts: your pets are unique and they have different needs. Our ecosystem is meant to help you build a custom solution for you and your pets.

Let’s face it, technology makes our lives easier. From wireless vacuum cleaners to self-driving cars, we are now more than ever able to work, play and, most importantly, communicate with each other with ease and flexibility.

At Kolony Robotic, we wanted to make sure that our canine friends were not left out of the tech equation, which is one of the reasons we came up with our Mia robot. But we’re not the only ones harnessing progress in the field. Here’s a selection of six cool tech toys for dogs that your pet (and you) will certainly enjoy.

This is like the iPhone of tech toy for dogs: sleek, friendly and versatile. The all-in-one Wi-Fi pet cam with built-in treat dispenser allows you to see, talk and play with your dog from your phone. The device can be installed on a flat surface or mounted to a wall and comes in three trendy colors – silver, black or rose gold – to match your décor.

There are a lot of pets cams out there, but this one has something special: your dog can actually call you! The chew resistant surface is equipped with a pet-safe microphone, a low-light camera screen, motion and sound detectors and even a scent release to make your pooch feel that you are close by. By placing the PawCall accessory on the floor near the device, your dog can easily get in touch with you when he’s feeling bored or lonely. Now you only need to train him to use it with moderation!

Whistle is not a toy per se, but it sure helps keep track of the overall well-being of your four-legged friend. This is especially true if you are tracking your dog’s progress or activity level. Just as your own FitBit, the device combines GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi technologies to monitor your dog’s daily routine. You can set custom sleep or activity goals and receive email or text notifications if your dog wanders away from the safe location areas you’ve identified.

While it might look like a fancy dog bowl, this is actually a clever puzzle designed specifically for your pet. By reacting correctly (through the touchpad) to different light sequences, your dog can unlock the food reward while at the same time receiving his dose of mental stimulation. Developed by dog neuroscientists, the device can be adjusted to any dog’s skill level. You can even set it to run on a schedule through the connected app. Pretty cool, eh?

Your pooch just NEVER gets tired of playing fetch? Apparently, this was the problem of the Hamills, an Austin-based family who wanted to provide their very active poodle with quality playtime while they, on the other hand, could go about their own business (such as finishing their homework for example). With this automatic ball launcher that runs on a built-in rechargeable battery, your dog can literally play for hours. The iFetch Too, a version for medium to large sized dogs, can launch standard-sized tennis balls up to 40 feet away.

Ever get bored at home, just sitting around? Now imagine you couldn’t read, go online, watch TV, text, or call anyone. And you were locked in. And you had ten times the energy you currently have. This is life for too many dogs, and if yours is one of them, they need your help to keep active indoors and relieve the excruciating monotony!

You may think it’s no big deal, but being cooped up inside with no mental or physical stimulation is bad news for your canine friend. It can cause anxiety and negative behaviors such as scratching the walls, chewing furniture, raiding the garbage, or barking. Moreover, it’s also likely to exacerbate preexisting health or behavioral problems.

Yet when the weather’s not so great, what to do? Vigorous outdoor exercise is ideal, but if it’s not an option, there are plenty of ways to keep your dog stimulated at home.

To keep your dog active indoors, be creative

Only because you can’t go outside doesn’t mean your dog’s only option is to just lie there. One example of a fun and healthy way to get some exercise indoors is to improvise an obstacle course. Right in your living room (or basement or garage) you can arrange household objects and guide your dog over, under, through and around them. You can even drape a blanket over an object to make a tunnel to run through.

Keeping your dog’s games varied is important. You can play tug of war, provided you have enough space. If you have a set of stairs with carpet runners on them, playing fetch up the stairs is also great exercise.

And if time is of the essence, there’s a wide variety of tech toys for dogs, such as our own Mia robot, that can help you keep your canine friend busy and stimulated all day long.

Give your dog a sense of purpose

Dogs love having a sense of purpose; no matter how silly some tasks seem to us, they can go a long way towards staving off boredom and its attendant problems. “Fetch the slippers” is an old classic, but really fetching anything will do.

If the task happens to have some use for you, so much the better. You can train your dog to put your socks and underwear in the laundry hamper, bring your shoes in their proper place, or even push the chairs into the desired arrangement. They love to help!

Let them play with food

There are lots of ways to use your dog’s appetite to keep them from getting bored. Because dogs are natural scavengers, you can hide pieces of kibble in nooks and corners and watch your dog follow his nose until he finds them all, then repeat.

Or, you can use a solid, hollow toy (Kongs are great for this) and hide food in it. A peanut-butter-filled Kong can keep a dog occupied for an hour. Fill it with wet food and then freeze it to prolong the reward as the food thaws.

With the considerable variety of options available to keep your dog stimulated and happy indoors, there’s really no need for bored dog syndrome to go on. Try some of these today, and you’ll see what a difference it can make in keeping your dog active indoors!

MEET MIA, YOUR DOG NEW FRIEND

MIA is an autonomous robot that entertains your dog and even dispenses treats! MIA will reduce your dog’s separation anxiety and barking, increase its exercise level and make its day more fun!

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Did you ever notice your furry friend going into a frenzy when you pick up your keys to leave the house? Have your neighbors complained about constant barking or whining while you were away? Chances are your dog is experiencing a kind of distress called separation anxiety.

Here’s how to recognize if you dog suffers from separation anxiety and what you can do to help him.

What is separation anxiety in dogs?

Being the social animals that they are, dogs simply don’t like it when the pack is divided, especially if that means they’ll have to spend several hours by themselves. Separation anxiety is a common behavioral problem that affects 14 to 35% of dogs. It jumps up to 29 to 50% when we’re talking of senior dogs.

The insecurity, agitation, and panic that characterize separation anxiety can be triggered by a change of routine or environment, such as a move, the introduction of a new pack member (a pet or a newborn child) or a change in your working hours. Dogs that have spent a large amount of time in unfamiliar surroundings – at a vet, in a boarding kennel or at a rescue facility – are also more prone to experience separation anxiety.

These are the most common ways in which separation anxiety manifests in dogs:

Excessive salivation

Barking

Whining

Destroying items in the home

Scratching (at walls, furniture, floor, etc.)

Attempting to escape

Soiling the house

Things you can do to alleviate separation anxiety in your dog

Destructive behaviors in dogs are usually the result of stress, including the stress of separation and isolation. Here are some ways you can help your pooch feel more at ease and confident when you leave the house.

Desensitize your dog to departures through obedience training and discipline

The first step in modifying a dog’s behavior is changing the negative associations surrounding departures. Stay calm and composed when you leave or arrive. Through obedience training, gradually accustom him to longer and longer absences. Only reward patience and calmness.

Provide stimulation to reduce boredom

A busy dog is a happy dog. By providing stimulation, you distract your pup from the anxiety of loneliness. Leave the TV on, provide him with a new toy or stuff a hollow toy with treats to occupy him during the long hours. There’s an array of toys out there designed specifically to keep them mentally active at home.

Exercise your dog well before leaving

Just as is true with humans, a good exercise session does wonders to calm a dog’s anxious mind- just make sure you leave 20 to 30 minutes to your dog to settle down from the excitement before you go.

Get your dog a friend

You needed a reason to convince your spouse to adopt a second dog? Here’s one: interacting with another member of the pack (if it’s a stable companion) will help relieve the stress of separation anxiety. The good news is that dogs do not discriminate on species. Cats, goats, and even robots, such as Kolony’s Mia, can fill that gap.

Finally, when witnessing symptoms of anxiety in your dog, remember that he is in a state of suffering. Instead of brushing it off or feeling annoyed, try to address the issue proactively. This way, you will make your home a happy place, even when you are not there.

MEET MIA, YOUR DOG NEW FRIEND

MIA is an autonomous robot that entertains your dog and even dispenses treats! MIA will reduce your dog’s separation anxiety and barking, increase its exercise level and make its day more fun!